▲ A police officer involved in the false closure of the Jeju missing person case is transferred in a transport vehicle.
Police Officer Boo, the Jeju police officer who received the initial report regarding a woman in her 30s surnamed Chang in May, has admitted during a police investigation that he closed the case without ever speaking with Chang after the missing person report was filed.
According to the Jeju Provincial Police Agency today (August 28), Officer Boo had previously maintained that he "made contact" with Chang when closing the missing person case. However, during questioning late last night, he stated, "My previous statements that I had spoken with Chang were a lie," and admitted to some of the allegations.
Police began to secure admissions after presenting telecommunication records showing no phone calls between them, alongside an autopsy result indicating that Chang is estimated to have died in the early hours of May 12 to 13, prior to the initial report.
Police stated, "Due to concerns that Officer Boo might retract his statements, we cannot disclose specific details regarding the charges he has admitted to."
Police plan to continue investigating the motives and circumstances of the crime by deploying profilers and conducting forensic analysis.
Police plan to forward Officer Boo to the prosecution next week and hold an official briefing to reveal the motives and circumstances of the crime.
Officer Boo was arrested on charges of telling the reporter that he had made contact with Chang after a missing person report was filed on the afternoon of May 15, closing the case, and unlawfully deleting Chang's information from the missing person profiling system management list.
Chang left the accommodation where she had been staying long-term on the night of May 12, and a missing person report was filed on May 15.
Police recovered Chang's body near her accommodation on August 24, about 100 days after the missing person report was filed.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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